An omakase at Rōnin Ōmakase takes about two hours from the first course to the last. Chef Liam Lee serves around ten courses one at a time at a ten seat counter at 445 Little Collins St, and each one is finished in front of you before it is handed across.
That figure covers the meal itself. Rōnin is dinner only, Wednesday to Saturday, with the counter open from 6pm to 11pm, so treat the time on your booking as the start and plan the rest of the evening from roughly two hours later. If omakase is new to you, our guide to what to expect at a first omakase covers the etiquette side.
The pace comes from the format. There is no printed menu and no à la carte, so no time goes on ordering; it goes into the cooking. Each course is finished at the counter, much of it over charcoal, and the next one arrives when the chef is ready to plate it.
One chef runs the whole counter. That is also why the FAQ says dietary alterations cannot be accommodated: there is no second cook in a back kitchen to make a separate plate. Every banchan and ferment is made in house, and jang and Australian seasonal produce shape the sequence. What banchan is, and why Rōnin makes it on site, has its own article.
Chef Liam Lee trained in multi-course Korean dining at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul, and a sequence served over a couple of hours sits closer to that tradition than to a quick grill dinner. His background is on the chef page.
The FAQ recommends arriving a few minutes early. Service starts on schedule for the whole counter out of respect for every guest, and it is not held back for late arrivals. The exact rule for anyone running behind is written on the FAQ page, so read it before the night rather than on the way in.
Arriving late eats into the two hours instead of extending them, because the counter moves as one sitting. If plans change days ahead, cancellations made more than 72 hours before the booking are free, and the separate window for groups of 4 or more is explained in our article on the omakase cancellation policy.
Drinks are ordered at the counter and BYO is not available, so there is no need to stop for a bottle on the way. There is no dress code either. The price is from A$195 per guest (no prepayment required), with a 10% surcharge on weekends and 15% on public holidays, and the bill is paid at the end of the meal.
Seats for each month are released on the 20th of the month before at 8pm, and you book online through OpenTable. The booking guide walks through the monthly release, and when the month you want is open you can reserve a seat at the counter.
No prepayment required: card details hold your seat and you pay at the end of the meal.
Call 0401 721 491 Email us info@roninomakase.com 445 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000